Crisis: the action-packed Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller

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I was hooked from start to finish: fast-paced, action-packed, thrilling, full of suspense and drama this book has it all. Sent into the steaming Colombian jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, Luke finds himself caught up in the coils of a plot that has terrifying international dimensions. He has written for the Economist, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Time Out and has been published in The Best of Sunday Times Travel Writing. He has, in addition, used his considerable knowledge of security – being the BBC’s Security Correspondent – to produce a great, page-turning debut novel. Readers who want a high level of realism and a modern story should find this really suits their tastes.

What might have helped though, would have been a central character with enough charisma or complexity to let the reader overlook the inherent implausibility of the villainous conspiracy. He was an officer in the Green Jackets and worked in banking in Saudi Arabia, he speaks fluent Arabic.

Villains make mistakes under no pressure, maybe because of ego, but again, given the plot, it leads to the reader somewhat guessing the consequence of the mistake. The writing style has a very solid British spy/espionage feel to it and more than a few times throughout the full-length novel I was reminded of a Bond sort of storyline or feel to the atmosphere. But, that aside, most of what Gardner gives us defies belief, provides too much detail and not enough characterisation. In his quest for authenticity the author neglected to make the characters believable as actual human beings which makes it difficult to care about the outcome.

At the same time, though, there was a strong touch of the current world circumstances and a very modern feel to it all. Honestly, if she had said ‘Babes’ one more time in a way that no real woman outside of The Only Way Is Essex actually would I would have screamed. With excellent characters, a modern and realistic outlook to our current world and solid plotting and pacing, I thought this was an exceptional spy/thriller style of story and I am eager to read the author’s next offering. When action hero-by-numbers Luke meets a soldier ex-colleague and they exchange the type of lame homoerotic repartee beloved of the military.Gardner would have been better served targeting a less populated and less aggressively macho literary world of modern espionage where only Charles Cumming and Le Carre really operate at the moment. Oh, and I HATED how the girlfriend had been written - whiney Sloane Ranger one minute; kick-arse, kidnap escaping martial expert the next. With his extended stint in the military, it made sense he could handle himself in a rough situation and had plenty of organizational skills and a sharp mind. Unfortunately Elise is not the only superfluous element in Crisis, although she is the most significant and irritating.

Elise was a frustratingly annoying presence and their was little rapore between any of the main characters.A fluent Arabist, with a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, he was previously the BBC's Middle East Correspondent based in Cairo, and before that in Dubai.